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Yes. In college it was easy.
Up at 5 to go do martial arts off campus.
Then second workout at 7:30 at a local gym.
Then back home, shower, to the lab or class.
Go to class or work in lab pretty much all day on campus.
Then sports teams or volunteer group or group study or another martial arts class in evening.
Then homework.
Sleep at 11-12.
With med school and residency it was 100 hour weeks on our feet and then having to study on top of that.
If I tried to do that now (38), I'd keel over dead.
I sleep about 5-5.5 hrs a day and seems to be optimal or my body is used to this. At 6 hours my body tend to wake up around 5 and it becomes harder to get up after 6. If I sleep for more than 7 I can keep sleeping til 8 hrs then I can't go back to sleep anymore.
With a 6 hours sleep my body feels more energetic with 5 it's just enough but at 7 hours I feel still tired.
I can function on very little sleep depending on the situation but that doesn't mean my body and mind aren't being negatively affected by it when I do that excessively and, at least in the case of myself and my acquaintances, there's always that point when the body reclaims what you're depriving it of.
I understand when 24 hours in a day just doesn't seem like enough. Time catches up to me all too often. There's so much you want to do and so much you haven't accomplished and before you know it, boom, it's the middle of the night and you wonder where the heck the day went because you still have all of these goals you want to achieve.
When you feel that's why you're not reaching the level of success you desire, you can start to obsess over how you're not making the most of your time each day. You start to feel like sleep is a luxury you can't afford, it's a waste, and so are all those other pesky things like socializing and fun. You need to go hard every minute of the day that you can spare because you refuse to sleep your life away, to waste it instead of pushing forward.
Unfortunately, such ambitions built on tossing your health or happiness or well-roundedness aside long term in their pursuit rarely end well. You might achieve the success you wanted, but you'll have all sorts of other problems to contend with as a consequence of what you compromised and sacrificed to get it. In that sense, you're chasing your tail more than your future.
In short order, I'd say you need to calm the hell down lol That's number one. Number two, focus on quality, making the most out of the time that you have in a way that's reasonable and healthy rather than trying desperately to squeeze the clock within an inch of its life. As the saying goes, work smart, not hard. You'd be surprised how much you can accomplish in those measly 24 hours, including sleep and love and fun and relaxation, when you truly understand how to manage your time and how to make that time work for you.
I'm not saying there are never moments when sleep just has to wait, but it's not something you should aspire to.
I'm going to go in the opposite of the above post to some degree... not saying the above is wrong and I'm right, just offering up a different viewpoint that has worked for me.
I used to sleep 7-9 hours a night. One day (many years ago now) out of nowhere I decided that I wanted to cut my sleep time down because I felt I could accomplish more with the extra time and I really just wanted to push my limits and step outside of my comfort zone.
Now I sleep 4-6 hours per night and have been doing so for quite a few years and find it hard to believe I used to sleep 7-9 hours. I've been able to accomplish so much more, I'm up in the wee hours of the morning a good 3 hours before anyone else and I love it.
Once in awhile I may feel a bit tired in the afternoon but it passes quickly on the occasion it happens. I hit the gym 5 days per week and run 5 miles on my gym days as well and take two complete days off in a row from working out every week.
My work days are anywhere from 8 hours to the occasional 14 hour days but usually around 10 hours per day is about standard.
I say if you want to cut down on your sleep and increase your productivity you should go for it! You'll regret not trying it if you don't. If it really does get to be unbearable you can always make course corrections later. Also I wouldn't put to much faith in the sleep studies... They are just like the coffee studies, one month coffee is ok and the next month it's a killer and so forth and so on. Find out for yourself what your limits are and if you aren't happy with what you find change it.
I've grown to really enjoy pushing my limits and seeing just how far I can take something or push myself... didn't used to be that way until I learned the value of self discipline.
Lastly, don't listen to anyone who tells you you can't do something... most people when they can't do something will try to tell you that you can't either and it's just plain BS. ( I think this was one of Will Smiths lines to his son in the movie The pursuit of happiness)
If by some chance I've taken a few years off of my life by reducing my sleep (seriously doubt it) I'm ok with that because the value that I've been able to add in place of that sleep has allowed me to pack more experiences into my years. I can't imagine being on my deathbed and regretting not having slept more!
But I must stress that this is my take on the subject and not everyone else will or has to feel the same way...to each their own, I'm not here to judge.
Best of luck OP
I usually fall asleep somewhere around 1 and wake up at 6:20, so I would say I get 5 hours and 20 minutes of sleep. I find that if I get lots of sleep (around 9-10) I wake up way less tired, but for some reason I get tired easier during the day than I do when I only get 5 hours of sleep. It's weird.
I have sleep apnea, and at the time I was diagnosed I read considerable amount of material on sleep. Lack of sleep can affect you both on the short term, but also long term, with associated diseases such as heart problems, cancer, mental health, cognition, dementia, and other health conditions. Very few people can get less than 7-8 hours of sleep per night without effects on their health long term.
It is well known that Americans, in particular, do not get enough sleep. This causes accidents and affects family relationships, learning, all sorts of things.
Life is short... too short. I can sleep when I'm dead.
Exactly! Again studies are like religion... Every one of them are different and some say the complete opposite of the others and proponents of each fervently defend their positions... sometimes with undeniable proof to the opposite right in front of them.
When others can't or won't function on less sleep (less money, less ideal circumstance etc..) they most often than not tend to project their inabilities onto others despite the fact that others deal with those same circumstances quite well, even thrive under them.
It's definitely understandable, who wants to admit that someone else has taken a similar situation and made a success out of it in the face of someone else's failure under the same circumstance?
Again I can't imagine anyone on their deathbed regretful they didn't spend more time sleeping! In bed yes but sleeping I doubt it!
Take chances,Push your limits! You'll never know what's possible for you if you don't!
A friend functioned on 3-4 hours of sleep a night, starting in his 20's or so. He had a heart attack when he was 40. Of course he had a bad diet, was overweight, and was a workaholic but the lack of sleep did not help. The cardiologist told him to try and get at least 6 hours of sleep a night. Even if he could not sleep, just lay in bed and relax. Sleep or rest was important for heart health.
6.5 hours seems to be my best. Anything less and I feel lousy, any more and I just feel agitated yet well rested.
I also have to keep my acid reflux under control otherwise I'll be looking at 3-4 hours spread out.
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